Sept. 7, 2005

Washington DC - Three Georgetown Coaches were part of a symposium on conflict resolution with youth baseball coaches from Venezuela today. The event, sponsored by the U.S. State Department, was hosted by Dr. Lise Morje Howard, Director of the program in conflict resolution. This was the second part of a process that began with New York Yankees' star Bernie Williams conducting youth baseball clinics is Venezuela. The object of the meeting was to increase understanding across cultural lines.

"It was very worthwhile" said Head Baseball Coach Pete Wilk. "We had a surprising number of things in common despite the differences in culture and language. I'm glad I was a part of it."

Assistant Women's Soccer Coach Naomi Hines and Assistant Football Coach Mike Mattia agreed. "Our discussion group discovered a great deal of common ground. We had a list of questions to work from and found we both face many of the same challenges. It was eye opening" said Coach Hines.

"I admit, I was initially a little reluctant to take the time away from preparation for Saturday's game" said Coach Mattia. "But once the discussion began I was glad I'd agreed to do it. I definitely developed a deeper appreciation for another culture as I found how similar our problems and solutions are."

The 15 coaches from Venezuela also seemed to have a positive reaction and everyone, from the State Department representatives to the translators, left Georgetown's Intercultural Center with a positive impression.